Legacy Trust UK: Finance

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much of the £40 million endowment to Legacy Trust UK was provided by  (a) his Department,  (b) Big Lottery Fund and  (c) the Arts Council.

James Purnell: holding answer 3 December 2007
	The £40 million endowment for the Legacy Trust is made up of a £6 million grant from DCMS, £5 million from the Arts Council England (ACE), £5 million from the Big Lottery Fund (BiG), and £24 million from the Millennium Commission (which has since been transferred to BiG). The DCMS contribution is ring-fenced for the UK School games.

Christmas

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent on  (a) Christmas cards and  (b) postage of Christmas cards in 2007.

Shahid Malik: DFID has spent £3,320.56 on 7,100 Christmas cards and envelopes in total.
	It is not possible to disaggregate the cost of posting Christmas cards from DFID's overall postage costs. Not all cards would be sent by post: some may be sent by Foreign Office bag to overseas contacts, or sent by the internal Government mail system.

Iraq: Reconstruction

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 3 December 2007,  Official Report, column 915W, on Iraq: reconstruction, 
	(1)  how many projects have been completed in Iraq for each of the last five years; and how many of these projects received the top score for success in meeting its objectives in the relevant project completion report;
	(2)  whether the annual output to purpose reports on reconstruction in Iraq focus only on projects which have been completed in that year; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  if he will place a copy of the annual output to purpose report on reconstruction in Iraq for each of the last five years in the Library.

Douglas Alexander: DFID has completed 32 projects in Iraq since 2003. This includes projects which are part of our bilateral programme and assistance channelled through the multilateral agencies such as the United Nations and Red Cross. All our projects valued at £1 million and over are regularly scored and monitored. This includes project scoring mid-way through the project—an Output to Purpose Review (OPR)—and a Project Completion Report (PCR) which is produced when the project has come to an end.
	The following table summarises the scoring of our completed PCRs since 2003:
	
		
			   Number of projects completed  Completely  s uccessful  Largely  s uccessful  Partially  s uccessful  Successful only to a limited extent 
			 2003 4 4 — — — 
			 2004 11 4 4 3 — 
			 2005 12 2 6 3 1 
			 2006 2 — — 2 — 
			 2007 3 — 1 2 — 
		
	
	Projects and programmes are scored according to whether they achieved their intended objectives. This will depend on a number of factors such as the level of risk and the type of assistance being given.
	There is no general output-to-purpose report on reconstruction in Iraq that I can place in the Library since all OPRs and PCRs are project specific.

Minimum Wage

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many London-based staff are employed by his Department on the national minimum wage.

Shahid Malik: The Department for International Development has no London or UK based staff who are employed on or below the national minimum wage.

Tanzania: Overseas Investment

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with the UK high commissioner in Tanzania on court actions against UK investors in that country.

Gareth Thomas: holding answer 26 November 2007
	My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, met with the UK high commissioner to Tanzania on his visit to Dar es Salaam on 26-27 November. He was briefed by the high commissioner about a specific court case against a UK investor.

Custodial Treatment: Children

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 13 November 2007,  Official Report, column 145W, on custodial treatment: children, how many children of age  (a) 10,  (b) 11,  (c) 12 and  (d) 13 years were held in custody in the same establishment as children aged 14 years or over in (i) 2004, (ii) 2005 and (iii) 2006.

David Hanson: Young people between the ages of 10 to 13 who have been given a custodial sentence, and those aged 12 and 13 who are remanded to the care of a local authority with a requirement that they be kept in secure accommodation, are placed in secure children's homes or secure training centres. Secure children's homes accommodate boys and girls aged 10 to 14, girls up to the age of 16, and 15- and 16-year-old boys who are assessed as being particularly vulnerable. (courts cannot order 10- or 11-year-olds to be placed in secure accommodation.)
	Secure training centres accommodate young people aged 12 to 14, girls up to the age of 16 and boys aged 15 and over who are assessed as being particularly vulnerable.

Custodial Treatment: Children

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 13 November 2007,  Official Report, column 145W, on custodial treatment: children, how many children of age  (a) 10,  (b) 11,  (c) 12 and  (d) 13 years were held in custody following incidents of assault in (i) 2004, (ii) 2005 and (iii) 2006.  [Official Report, 20 February 2008, Vol. 472, c. 10MC.]

David Hanson: The following table shows the number of young people from ages 10 to 13 in custody on remand or under sentence whose principal offence was assault as at 30 June in the three years in question. Young people in this age range are accommodated in either a secure children's home or secure training centre. This data has been supplied by the Youth Justice Board.
	
		
			  Number of children aged 10, 11, 12 and 13 years were held in custody (admissions) following incidents of assault in 2004, 2005, and 2006 
			   2004  2005  2006 
			  Age  Remanded  Sentenced  Remanded  Sentenced  Remanded  Sentenced 
			 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 12 8 4 22 3 5 3 
			 13 35 15 24 20 12 12 
			 Grand total 43 19 46 23 17 15 
		
	
	The data includes the following offence types: Assault occasioning actual bodily harm, assault with intent to resist apprehension or assault on a person assisting a constable, common assault, malicious wounding/grievous bodily harm, violence against person, wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm.

Land Registry: Pay

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on what date the current pay agreement at HM Land Registry ended; what the reasons are for the time taken to reach a settlement for 2007; what the timetable for negotiations is for 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Wills: Land Registry made a formal pay offer to the Unions on 21 December and is aiming to pay the award to staff in February 2008.
	After the publication of the remit guidance on preliminary meetings were held with the Unions to obtain their views on what Land Registry should request in its pay remit. The pay remit was initially submitted to the Treasury on 10 August 2007 and, after correspondence with Treasury officials, was resubmitted on 5 October 2007. Land Registry staff have been kept regularly informed of progress of the pay review. Clearance of the pay remit was received from the Treasury on 3 December 2007. Meetings were then held with the Unions on 6 December, 11 December and 19 December.
	Until the 2007 pay review is settled, Land Registry will continue to apply the rules agreed for the 2006 pay settlement that ended on 31 May 2007.
	Land Registry is not in a position to confirm the timetable for the 2008 pay award. However, the target settlement date remains 1 June 2008 and Land Registry will do its utmost to work with the Unions to reach a conclusion as close to 1 June as possible.

Offenders

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of offenders in the North East re-offended in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: The National Statistics relating to re-offending do not include a regional breakdown. Figures for proven re-offending within two years by adults released from prison or starting a community sentence have been published for 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2004. The most recent data was published in the 2007 report, "Re-offending of adults: Results from the 2004 cohort" which is available online at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs07/hosb0607.pdf
	We have developed more timely area-based management information on a different basis from the National Statistics. These show for each of the 42 CJS areas, the proportion of those on the probation caseload who re-offend within three months and are convicted within six months of the end of every quarter. These experimental statistics are circulated to probation areas four times a year.

Prisoners: Vocational Training

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when the Government last reviewed the relevance of vocational training in prisons to the skills needed in the job market.

David Lammy: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government reviewed the relevance of vocational training in prisons during the development and implementation of the Offenders Learning and Skills Service (OLASS) in 2005. The Learning and Skills Council's document 'Developing the Offenders Learning and Skills Service: the Prospectus' [September 2007] sets out a process for a full review of the vocational learning offer, by Criminal Justice Area, planned to begin in early 2008.

Prisons: Education

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much has been spent on education and training in prisons since 1997.

David Lammy: I have been asked to reply.
	Since the transfer of offender learning and skills from HM Prison Service in 2001, the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills' Offenders Learning and Skills Unit (OLSU), and its predecessors, have spent the following on education and training in prisons:
	
		
			  Financial year  Total spend (£ million) 
			 2001-02 57 
			 2002-03 73 
			 2003-04 116 
			 2004-05 126 
			 2005-06 151 
			 2006-07 156

Prisons: Education

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what minimum standards apply to the provision of education, vocational training and work programmes for prisoners.

David Lammy: I have been asked to reply.
	The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) started to implement an integrated Offender Learning and Skills Service (OLASS) across England from August 2005. The LSC's providers are required to deliver the service set out in the 'Offenders Learning Journey' which specifies minimum standards for education arid vocational training for prisoners. A separate version of the 'Offenders Learning Journey' specifies the service for those held in Young Offender Institutions, where the Youth Justice Board requires that 90 per cent. of young people receive 25-hours a week of education, training and personal development activity.

Homicide: Greater London

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many homicides there were in  (a) Romford,  (b) the London Borough of Havering and  (c) London since 1997; and if she will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: Information from the Homicide Index can only be broken down to police force area level. The following table of data relates to the number of homicides recorded by the Metropolitan and City of London police forces between 1997 and 2005-06.
	Although the number of homicides in London is higher now than in 1997, there has been a reduction in each of the last two years. Moreover, the new Make Communities Safer Public Service Agreement (PSA), effective from April 2008, includes a target to reduce the most serious violence. Many of the actions required to achieve this objective will have an impact on a range of violent and sexual offences, but there will be a particular focus on homicide.
	The Government are developing a wide-ranging programme of work to deliver the new PSA target, and will set out a new framework for tackling violence, based on the identification and management of risk and supporting victims to reduce harm, soon.
	
		
			  Currently recorded homicides( 1, 2)  by police in London( 3, 4) , 1997 to 2005-06( 5) 
			  Year( 1)  Number of offences 
			 1997 156 
			 1997-98 160 
			 1998-99 143 
			 1999-2000 172 
			 2000-01 178 
			 2001-02 179 
			 2002-03 173 
			 2003-04 189 
			 2004-05 182 
			 2005-06 177 
			 (1) Homicide offences are shown according to the year in which police initially recorded the offence as homicide. This is not necessarily the year in which the incident took place or the year in which any court decision was made. (2) As at 9 October 2006, figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts, or as further information becomes available. (3) Homicides recorded by City of London and Metropolitan police. (4) Excludes homicides recorded by British Transport police. (5) Data for 2006-07 and revised data for the period 1996 to 2005-06 are scheduled to be released in late January 2008.

Members: Correspondence

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she will reply to Question 167966, tabled by the hon. Member for Cardiff Central on 21 November for answer on 26 November; and if she will make a statement.

Meg Hillier: The question was answered on 7 January 2008,  Official Report, columns 280-81W.

Police: Pay

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what  (a) total and  (b) average overtime payments were for police officers in each police force area in England and Wales for each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: Data on police overtime is produced by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. Police Officer overtime for 1997-98 to 2006-07, broken down by police force areas, is shown in the table. The average overtime payment can be calculated by dividing the overtime payment by the official number of Police Officers for that year (using Home Office figures) and is shown in the table.
	Data on police overtime is produced by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy—Police Officer overtime for 1997-98 to 2006-07, broken down by police force areas is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Overtime spend £000 
			  Force  1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Avon and Somerset 2,835 3,103 4,054 3,443 5,112 7,000 6,899 6,870 5,351 5,801 
			 Bedfordshire 1,603 2,132 2,372 2,709 3,992 4,106 4,708 4,693 4,181 4,398 
			 Cambridgeshire 2,008 2,081 2,279 2,920 4,102 5,175 4,238 — 5,550 4,976 
			 Cheshire 2,946 2,875 3,406 3,175 3,200 4,751 4,261 3,278 3,951 5,275 
			 City of London 1,554 1,386 1,934 2,065 2,375 2,602 2,135 2,185 1,955 1,096 
			 Cleveland 1,691 1,986 2,713 2,096 2,996 4,035 3,479 2,188 4,038 4,834 
			 Cumbria 1,256 1,376 1,865 1,730 2,095 __ 2,314 2,201 2,317 2,042 
			 Derbyshire 2,108 2,287 3,512 2,718 3,278 4,010 3,542 4,009 3,822 3,778 
			 Devon and Cornwall 3,634 3,988 4,653 4,831 7,658 6,441 5,476 6,026 6,566 6,568 
			 Dorset 1,606 1,619 1,812 1,976 2,233 2,880 2,790 3,581 3,089 3,413 
			 Durham 2,046 2,550 2,835 2,538 3,083 3,151 2,868 3,325 3,158 3,221 
			 Dyfed-Powys 1,437 1,504 1,582 1,694 2,017 2,458 1,794 1,936 2,163 2,724 
			 Essex 4,983 6,117 7,204 8,708 8,401 10,601 8,678 10,444 10,688 10,944 
			 Gloucestershire 1,625 1,826 2,416 2,209 2,337 3,257 3,430 2,766 3,273 2,854 
			 Greater Manchester 7,907 8,902 13,999 12,518 15,981 19,438 14,727 16,138 16,226 22,671 
			 Gwent 1,788 1,954 2,934 2,993 3,020 3,184 4,077 3,447 4,123 3,993 
			 Hampshire 6,016 7,367 8,322 7,109 8,557 11,603 9,703 11,818 11,243 12,001 
			 Hertfordshire 2,907 2,806 3,840 7,056 — 9,036 7,494 6,854 6,576 6,742 
			 Humberside 3,046 3,304 4,259 4,486 5,760 5,790 5,375 5,896 5,991 7,461 
			 Kent 4,984 5,307 6,695 6,941 7,420 10,301 9,523 9,877 11,405 11,992 
			 Lancashire 4,006 4,853 3,360 4,772 6,773 9,595 7,758 7,057 7,226 7,349 
			 Leicestershire 2,634 2,787 3,122 2,946 3,305 4,404 4,123 4,342 4,720 4,482 
			 Lincolnshire 1,781 1,702 2,380 2,945 2,537 3,199 2,193 2,856 2,345 2,214 
			 Merseyside 6,372 8,411 9,207 8,848 10,455 11,144 11,637 12,577 12,103 11,215 
			 Metropolitan Police 57,483 61,816 83,713 94,930 96,428 112,228 132,815 135,717 150,274 136901 
			 Norfolk 3,260 2,826 3,694 3,848 3,737 3,884 3,653 3,950 3,640 3,374 
			 North Wales 1,798 1,798 2,389 2,594 2,740 3,446 3,885 3,403 4,099 2,767 
			 North Yorkshire 2,111 2,364 3,048 3,738 3,584 3,534 3,199 3,690 4,889 4,352 
			 Northamptonshire 1,865 2,181 2,157 2,197 — 2,688 1,311 2,991 2,246 834 
			 Northumbria 5,037 5,007 3,970 4,421 4,776 6,217 6,452 7,395 7,736 8,135 
			 Nottinghamshire 2,215 2,660 3,567 3,210 4,304 4,626 — 6,782 5,886 5,091 
			 South Wales 2,599 2,805 3,845 4,181 3,993 4,977 5,328 6,291 5,002 6,473 
			 South Yorkshire 5,661 5,712 6,218 5,605 — 8,097 7,601 8,962 9,467 9,605 
			 Staffordshire 3,080 3,347 — 4,664 5,089 7,580 6,241 5,973 6,054 5,210 
			 Suffolk 1,304 1,421 1,367 1,760 1,775 1,815 2,031 2,171 2,041 3,467 
			 Surrey — 2,457 3,999 5,028 5,674 6,573 5,676 6,228 6,322 6,354 
			 Sussex 3,985 3,753 — 14,418 8,159 6,098 7,971 8,887 8,213 7,271 
			 Thames Valley 7,408 6,919 7,713 8,381 12,052 12,006 11,504 12,345 11,810 15,897 
			 Warwickshire 1,077 1,372 1,585 1,773 1,811 2,207 1,945 2,279 3,056 3,207 
			 West Mercia 2,654 2,896 3,088 3,837 4,495 4,857 4,503 4,491 4,107 5,237 
			 West Midlands 8,657 10,283 9,838 11,366 — 18,785 16,637 18,009 23,496 20,081 
			 West Yorkshire 6,461 5,365 6,746 7,322 11,839 13,510 10,997 13,549 13,323 13,244 
			 Wiltshire 1,408 1,535 2,028 1,850 1,770 1,940 1,440 2,430 1,903 2,385 
			  Source:  CIPFA Police Statistics: Actuals 2006-07 1997-98 
		
	
	 (b) The average overtime payment can be calculated by dividing the overtime payment by the official number of Police Officers for that year (using Home Office figures).
	 [Official Report, 21 January 2008; Vol. 470, c. 14MC.]
	
		
			  Average overtime per officer 
			  Force  1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Avon and Somerset 949 1,043 1,352 1,173 1,727 2,261 2,191 2,020 1,581 1,712 
			 Bedfordshire 1,466 1,977 2,278 2,635 3,853 3,841 4,257 3,974 3,441 3,671 
			 Cambridgeshire 1,542 1,611 1,788 2,361 3,165 3,800 3,062 — 3,959 3,480 
			 Cheshire 1,440 1,408 1,645 1,579 1,598 2,307 2,011 1,506 1,807 2,426 
			 City of London 1,809 1,680 2,486 2,823 3,378 3,406 2,642 2,562 2,232 1,261 
			 Cleveland 1,159 1,339 1,917 1,493 2,129 2,762 2,199 1,297 2,409 2,883 
			 Cumbria 1,098 1,183 1,656 1,596 1,999 — 2,030 1,801 1,881 1,660 
			 Derbyshire 1,177 1,291 1,997 1,530 1,798 2,170 1,768 1,937 1,846 1,847 
			 Devon and Cornwall 1,269 1,347 1,612 1,700 2,610 2,110 1,710 1,836 1,949 1,880 
			 Dorset 1,251 1,236 1,417 1,513 1,649 2,085 1,970 2,499 2,130 2,298 
			 Durham 1,401 1,683 1,808 1,629 1,933 1,952 1,737 1,973 1,838 1,896 
			 Dyfed-Powys 1,431 1,501 1,542 1,629 1,912 2,171 1,561 1,669 1,842 2,305 
			 Essex 1,683 2,089 2,492 3,104 2,910 3,598 2,903 3,371 3,350 3,338 
			 Gloucestershire 1,435 1,654 2,188 1,983 1,992 2,753 2,795 2,154 2,535 2,214 
			 Greater Manchester 1,142 1,281 2,056 1,842 2,313 2,693 2,006 2,007 2,018 2,848 
			 Gwent 1,438 1,585 2,353 2,369 2,370 2,389 3,040 2,512 2,867 2,722 
			 Hampshire 1,743 2,111 2,396 2,079 2,491 3,334 2,645 3,189 3,018 3,237 
			 Hertfordshire 1,653 1,613 2,228 3,994 — 4,951 3,829 3,286 3,125 3,171 
			 Humberside 1,490 1,635 2,157 2,322 3,005 2,813 2,553 2,664 2,687 3,355 
			 Kent 1,529 1,633 2,092 2,166 2,236 3,070 2,731 2,762 3,180 3,332 
			 Lancashire 1,234 1,490 1,036 1,501 2,081 2,904 2,323 1,988 2,035 2,051 
			 Leicestershire 1,352 1,405 1,566 1,478 1,626 2,097 1,950 1,907 2,067 1,992 
			 Lincolnshire 1,489 1,429 2,089 2,641 2,111 2,670 1,796 2,326 1,921 1,825 
			 Merseyside 1,506 1,995 2,186 2,166 2,562 2,702 2,845 3,051 2,804 2,627 
			 Metropolitan Police 2,155 2,369 3,211 3,725 3,876 4,280 4,746 4,564 4,893 4,483 
			 Norfolk 2,277 1,977 2,674 2,786 2,632 2,646 2,437 2,616 2,358 2,167 
			 North Wales 1,313 1,288 1,717 1,849 1,898 2,288 2,524 2,123 2,481 1,711 
			 North Yorkshire 1,794 2,023 2,680 3,347 3,098 2,911 2,644 2,978 3,859 3,304 
			 Northamptonshire 507 579 562 580 — 684 332 740 555 209 
			 Northumbria 3,766 3,662 2,970 3,445 3,660 4,387 4,468 4,836 5,014 4,972 
			 Nottinghamshire 953 1,145 1,603 1,456 1,946 1,985 — 2,730 2,353 2,055 
			 South Wales 873 939 1,290 1,429 1,288 1,545 1,645 1,919 1,525 1,984 
			 South Yorkshire 1,792 1,795 1,963 1,772 — 2,531 2,388 2,733 2,900 2,951 
			 Staffordshire 1,393 1,460 — 2,150 2,390 3,554 2,834 2,636 2,655 2,293 
			 Suffolk 1,105 1,198 1,149 1,537 1,567 1,509 1,621 1,665 1,554 2,667 
			 Surrey — 1,528 2,406 2,817 2,746 3,300 2,978 3,256 3,301 3,306 
			 Sussex 1,292 1,253 — 5,108 2,858 2,108 2,667 2,924 2,698 2,352 
			 Thames Valley 2,005 1,833 2,058 2,241 3,255 3,191 3,001 3,060 2,871 3,759 
			 Warwickshire 1,163 1,485 1,746 1,971 1,956 2,278 1,951 2,261 3,023 3,108 
			 West Mercia 1,301 1,441 1,525 2,034 2,304 2,407 1,996 1,907 1,735 2,228 
			 West Midlands 1,217 1,437 1,344 1,580 — 2,466 2,146 2,283 2,917 2,480 
			 West Yorkshire 1,240 1,041 1,354 1,518 2,459 2,763 2,187 2,569 2,366 2,347 
			 Wiltshire 1,220 1,327 1,762 1,655 1,580 1,677 1,244 1,997 1,557 1,957 
			  Source: CIPFA Police Statistics: Actuals 2006-07 to 1997-98 / Home Office Police Officer Numbers

Police: Retirement

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of police officers who will retire in each of the next five years.

Tony McNulty: The requested information can be estimated from the centrally collected data within the police personnel statistics series.
	Police officers are eligible for retirement with an ordinary pension after 25 years of service. An ordinary pension is payable from age 50 unless the officer has completed 30 years of service, in which case he or she may retire with an immediate pension even if under the age of 50. Data for the number of police officers with 25 to 26 years, 26 to 27 years, 27 to 28 years, 28 to 29 years and 29 to 30 years service are available.
	Officers with less than 25 years of service may retire with an immediate pension between the ages of 55 and 60, depending on their rank and police force. Data for the number of police officers over the age of 55 are available.
	We estimate that between 4,000 and 5,000 officers will retire with an ordinary, short service or ill health pension in each of the next five years.

Police: Standards

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of calls were met within the target time adopted by the Metropolitan Police in each of the last three years, broken down by borough.

Tony McNulty: The information requested on emergency call handling is published in the Annual Reports of Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC). The data are available at the force level only, although the City of London's emergency calls are also dealt with by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS). The MPS has adopted a target time of 15 seconds for responding to 999 calls.
	The latest available data refers to the 2004-05 financial year, and can be found in Figure 8 of the HMIC Annual Report 2004-05. This publication is available via the Home Office website at:
	http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/hc0506/hc08/0842/0842.pdf
	In 2004-05 86.4 per cent of calls were responded to within the MRS target time, in 2003-04 87.9 per cent were responded to and in 2002-03 the figure was 82.3 per cent.

Prosecutions: Driving Offences

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) successful prosecutions, (b) cautions and  (c) fixed penalty notices there have been in relation to uninsured drivers (i) in total and (ii) in each police force area in each of the last 10 years; and what the average penalty was in each category.

Vernon Coaker: Available information taken from the Court Proceedings Database held by the Ministry of Justice, for the offence of 'using a motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks', from 1997-2005 (latest available) is provided in the tables.
	2006 data will be available later this year.
	
		
			  Proceedings at magistrates courts for the offence of using a motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks( 1) , and average fine imposed( 2)  by police force area, England and Wales, 1997-2004 
			  Number of offences 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001 
			  Police force area  Findings of guilt  Average fine (£)  Findings of guilt  Average fine (£)  Findings of guilt  Average fine (£)  Findings of guilt  Average fine (£)  Findings of guilt  Average fine (£) 
			 Avon and Somerset 9,424 259 9,875 204 9,357 165 9,578 182 8,455 130 
			 Bedfordshire 2,951 314 2,992 293 2,328 274 2,323 226 2,916 164 
			 Cambridgeshire 2,394 221 2,507 209 2,233 215 2,226 182 1,989 119 
			 Cheshire 3,499 274 3,658 248 3,872 237 4,110 211 3,927 149 
			 Cleveland 2,798 162 2,908 167 3,027 170 3,597 179 3,643 167 
			 Cumbria 3,089 150 2,866 171 2,772 220 2,699 265 2,906 152 
			 Derbyshire 3,830 270 3,522 279 3,613 283 3,945 296 4,261 337 
			 Devon and Cornwall 4,967 184 4,263 185 4,681 178 5,890 179 5,742 133 
			 Dorset 3,458 295 2,777 302 3,013 301 3,548 261 2,986 121 
			 Durham 2,912 181 3,086 177 4,475 194 4,338 160 4,361 118 
			 Essex 4,507 174 4,635 149 5,035 140 5,356 123 5,417 101 
			 Gloucestershire 2,114 154 2,885 202 2,867 247 2,548 240 2,692 91 
			 Greater Manchester 20,548 245 21,430 226 23,696 236 24,020 232 26,600 152 
			 Hampshire 7,844 132 8,028 135 8,123 138 7,578 136 7,677 119 
			 Hertfordshire 2,573 193 3,056 164 2,789 173 3,332 204 3,691 155 
			 Humberside 3,479 159 3,501 148 3,920 143 4,065 137 3,657 122 
			 Kent 4,754 246 4,808 241 4,232 227 6,431 271 7,063 209 
			 Lancashire 11,577 332 11,198 296 10,800 237 11,054 219 9,812 111 
			 Leicestershire 5,990 318 6,265 318 7,281 276 6,752 254 6,849 134 
			 Lincolnshire 3,001 159 3,466 197 3,744 209 3,321 188 2,970 133 
			 London, City of 1,382 332 1,431 314 1,141 346 777 375 1,021 369 
			 Merseyside 8,432 200 7,694 203 6,920 200 7,813 207 7,794 163 
			 Metropolitan Police 25,866 202 22,874 185 20,893 184 20,247 169 22,677 139 
			 Norfolk 3,456 242 3,060 256 3,000 265 2,851 210 3,040 99 
			 Northamptonshire 3,083 243 3,271 286 4,151 310 2,998 280 1,643 280 
			 Northumbria 8,064 136 8,079 146 9,299 148 9,430 144 9,251 130 
			 North Yorkshire 2,778 249 2,538 236 2,656 230 2,572 211 2,216 130 
			 Nottinghamshire 6,149 164 6,658 165 6,156 153 6,082 150 6,261 152 
			 South Yorkshire 7,342 194 7,831 206 8,424 191 8,956 170 10,163 128 
			 Staffordshire 5,251 251 5,379 228 5,725 234 6,760 198 4,723 152 
			 Suffolk 2,202 193 2,283 192 2,547 192 2,330 183 2,387 128 
			 Surrey 2,439 243 2,051 242 2,278 215 2,577 218 2,826 201 
			 Sussex 4,726 218 4,150 186 4,198 181 3,808 167 4,016 118 
			 Thames Valley 6,258 292 6,311 257 7,291 268 7,456 250 7,128 134 
			 Warwickshire 2,595 228 2,394 175 2,192 177 2,316 188 2,672 156 
			 West Mercia 4,848 268 5,624 282 5,224 282 5,542 263 5,766 176 
			 West Midlands 18,484 207 18,969 190 16,407 189 18,010 201 18,221 169 
			 West Yorkshire 15,041 255 14,682 242 15,903 242 15,649 209 15,934 120 
			 Wiltshire 2,310 152 2,712 182 2,558 186 2,625 204 3,281 283 
			 Dyfed-Powys 1,953 183 1,952 182 2,044 175 2,076 169 1,914 155 
			 Gwent 2,899 253 3,344 225 3,452 225 3,808 208 3,836 148 
			 North Wales 3,280 210 3,309 226 3,097 272 2,848 230 2,565 144 
			 South Wales 9,936 190 10,629 180 10,467 183 10,335 188 9,809 159 
			
			 England and Wales 254,483 224 254,951 214 257,881 212 264,577 203 266,758 150 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of offences 
			   2002  2003( 3)  2004  2005 
			  Police force area  Findings of guilt  Average fine (£)  Findings of guilt  Average fine (£)  Findings of guilt  Average fine (£)  Findings of guilt  Average fine (£) 
			 Avon and Somerset 9,766 133 10,633 138 10,925 154 8,688 154 
			 Bedfordshire 3,184 169 3,524 137 3,220 143 3,334 156 
			 Cambridgeshire 2,298 118 2,728 131 2,678 152 2,827 171 
			 Cheshire 4,600 153 5,414 167 5,412 179 3,871 190 
			 Cleveland 4,325 173 4,017 171 5,124 189 3,819 202 
			 Cumbria 2,888 151 2,868 159 2,762 169 2,199 171 
			 Derbyshire 4,736 355 4,956 367 5,557 367 5,190 376 
			 Devon and Cornwall 6,380 132 6,635 127 6,217 134 5,241 145 
			 Dorset 3,388 114 4,276 125 3,634 158 3,584 171 
			 Durham 4,632 122 4,535 121 4,065 116 3,186 123 
			 Essex 5,401 104 5,487 112 5,368 164 5,413 182 
			 Gloucestershire 2,297 86 2,599 133 2,451 147 2,042 143 
			 Greater Manchester 27,805 151 29,826 157 26,939 167 22,869 176 
			 Hampshire 8,135 122 8,148 124 7,509 131 6,251 138 
			 Hertfordshire 4,214 166 5,099 181 5,401 198 5,716 208 
			 Humberside 3,576 132 4,460 137 4,348 150 4,136 180 
			 Kent 7,722 192 7,485 191 8,377 197 7,050 204 
			 Lancashire 11,107 113 13,770 141 10,011 156 10,945 169 
			 Leicestershire 7,435 135 8,114 138 7,822 150 5,340 145 
			 Lincolnshire 3,070 134 4,298 148 4,781 179 3,907 185 
			 London, City of 1,333 368 1,606 334 1,125 230 1,068 198 
			 Merseyside 8,688 167 10,756 148 10,555 137 8,757 141 
			 Metropolitan Police 27,307 140 31,702 143 36,707 147 36,033 165 
			 Norfolk 3,610 107 4,485 139 3,750 152 3,436 152 
			 Northamptonshire 913 339 3,261 245 4,671 183 3,606 156 
			 Northumbria 9,364 135 9,904 135 9,159 137 9,348 142 
			 North Yorkshire 2,124 136 2,369 141 2,537 166 2,569 177 
			 Nottinghamshire 6,005 156 7,730 152 7,833 188 6,299 138 
			 South Yorkshire 10,101 137 9,965 146 8,571 125 8,484 147 
			 Staffordshire 5,764 163 6,128 166 6,370 186 5,959 230 
			 Suffolk 2,862 138 3,594 133 3,548 136 2,738 156 
			 Surrey 3,158 215 2,900 221 2,604 197 2,874 195 
			 Sussex 3,730 117 3,694 138 3,102 162 3,370 170 
			 Thames Valley 8,334 135 9,759 158 9,208 198 7,887 206 
			 Warwickshire 2,395 168 2,905 164 3,438 210 2,958 200 
			 West Mercia 5,858 180 6,051 165 5,540 193 5,604 208 
			 West Midlands 22,202 192 25,557 200 27,734 206 24,890 207 
			 West Yorkshire 14,043 123 17,101 134 20,308 144 16,220 144 
			 Wiltshire 3,170 286 3,022 280 2,794 200 2,814 208 
			 Dyfed-Powys 2,293 166 2,243 172 1,650 187 1,890 184 
			 Gwent 3,676 154 3,465 171 2,980 157 2,761 171 
			 North Wales 3,003 150 4,542 149 4,797 154 3,331 163 
			 South Wales 11,607 173 11,756 158 11,232 154 8,694 149 
			  
			 England and Wales 288,499 155 323,367 160 322,814 169 287,198 177 
			 (1) An offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988 s. 143 (2). (2) Magistrates courts data only. Fines given at the Crown court total nationally (England and Wales) less than 10 each year. (3) As from 1 June 2003, 'driving a motor vehicle while uninsured against third party risks' became a fixed penalty offence.  Notes:  1. It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences may be less than complete. 2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Council Housing: Sales

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of income from the sale of council accommodation was used for the development of new council  (a) housing and  (b) affordable housing in each London borough in 2006-07.

Iain Wright: We hold no data which separately identify how the receipts from council house sales are used. Receipts from housing related asset sales, including from right to buy, are subject to a 'pooling' regime whereby a proportion of the receipts come to central Government and a proportion is retained by the local authority. The proportion that comes to central Government is 75 per cent. for a dwelling, 50 per cent. for a non-dwelling asset such as housing land. The local authority is free to use the remaining 25 per cent. and 50 per cent. respectively for any capital purpose it sees fit—including the development of new council housing and affordable housing.
	Audited data are currently only available for 2005-06 when pooled capital receipts in London totalled £319 million. Housing Corporation spend through the Affordable Housing Programme on affordable housing in London was £714.5 million for that financial year. Local authorities may also spend their own capital resources on provision of affordable housing, but separate figures are not available for this.
	The following table shows Housing Corporation spend on the provision of new affordable housing both social rented and low cost home ownership in London. The spend includes both new build and acquisition and refurbishment. It excludes spend on works (repairs/improvements) to existing RSL stock.
	
		
			  London borough  Total  (£ million) 
			 City of London 2.5 
			 Barking and Dagenham 12.9 
			 Barnet 21.5 
			 Bexley 13.5 
			 Brent 24.3 
			 Bromley 19.2 
			 Camden 17.9 
			 Croydon 34.5 
			 Ealing 28.6 
			 Enfield 24.2 
			 Greenwich 22.1 
			 Hackney 34.1 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 21.5 
			 Haringey 26.6 
			 Harrow 9.0 
			 Havering 10.3 
			 Hillingdon 17.1 
			 Hounslow 30.9 
			 Islington 25.3 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 6.7 
			 Kingston upon Thames 10.9 
			 Lambeth 45.7 
			 Lewisham 20.9 
			 Merton 9.2 
			 Newham 39.4 
			 Redbridge 12.2 
			 Richmond upon Thames 6.2 
			 Southwark 39.0 
			 Sutton 13.4 
			 Tower Hamlets 38.9 
			 Waltham Forest 14.5 
			 Wandsworth 21.5 
			 Westminster 24.9

Empowerment Champions

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the criteria were by which she decided which local authorities were to be named as empowerment champions.

John Healey: The 18 local authorities named as empowerment champions were selected because they demonstrated that improvements were being made to people's lives in their area through providing a number of specific empowerment initiatives, and that there were plans for further development action. They agreed to work with the department to spotlight good practice, develop peer learning programmes and contribute to the development of national policy. The selections took into account the views of the Government offices for the regions and the importance of including all the English regions, a cross-section of political control, types of council, and types of community served, to ensure the widest relevance of the learning programmes developed through the network.

Empty Property

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many unoccupied domestic properties there were in England and Wales in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Iain Wright: holding answer 7 January 2008
	 The numbers of vacant dwellings are tabulated for England. The figures include long and short term vacancies of less than six months.
	
		
			   Snapshot date  Long term vacancies  Short term vacancies  Total for England 
			 2002 1 November 375,600 382,500 758,100 
			 2003 3 November 360,500 383,300 743,800 
			 2004 1 November 318,600 395,300 714,000 
			 2005 10 October 313,600 409,600 723,200 
			 2006 9 October 318,400 429,700 748,200 
			 Figures are available for England only.  Source :  Council Tax Base (CTB1) returns

Green Belt

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer of 9 October 2007,  Official Report, columns 563-4W, on Green Belt, for what reasons green belt protection is not compatible with National Park designation.

Iain Wright: Green belt protection is not incompatible with National Park designation though they have different purposes. The primary purposes of green belt are to prevent urban sprawl and prevent towns from merging, and to assist in urban regeneration by encouraging reuse of urban brownfield land whereas the aims of the National Parks are to conserve and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage of each park and to promote opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of their special qualities by the public. However, both provide particularly strong controls over development.
	In relation to New Forest National Park, it was the decision of Hampshire county council and New Forest district council as part of their review of relevant development plans, to de-designate green belt land in the area of the National Park once the Park was created.

Housing: Disabled

Patricia Hewitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what support her Department provides to local authorities to ensure that enough homes are available with appropriate adaptations to meet the needs of people using wheelchairs.

Iain Wright: Communities and Local Government funds local authorities with an annual grant of £121 million to help finance the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) programme (increasing to £146 million in 2008-09). The DFG programme helps around 37,000 disabled people each year by providing assistance with a wide range of housing adaptations, which helps enable them to remain living independently in their home.
	Communities and Local Government has also set out proposals for the implementation of the Lifetime Homes Standards in our response to the consultation on the Code for Sustainable Homes. The standards significantly improve the suitability and adaptability of homes for people in wheelchairs as well as for other people whose circumstances undergo change. From 2011 all publicly funded housing will be built to the Lifetime Homes Standards, significantly increasing the provision of this type of accommodation.
	Additionally as part of their approach to planning and housing policy, local authorities are required to identify households with specific needs. Communities and Local Government's Strategic Housing Market Assessment Practice Guidance explains how authorities can undertake such assessments, including identifying the number of people with disabilities who require adapted housing.

Housing: Green Belt

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate her Department has made of the number of dwellings that were built in  (a) St. Albans District and  (b) Hertfordshire on land (i) designated and (ii) previously designated as green belt in 2007; and what estimate it has made of the number likely to be built in each case under the proposed regional spatial strategies in each year of those strategies.

Iain Wright: The Department does not hold information in a format which would enable the number of dwellings built on designated, or previously designated, green belt in either St. Albans or Hertfordshire to be readily identified. The Draft East of England Plan includes housing allocations for St. Albans of 360 dwellings per annum to 2021 and, for Hertfordshire, 4,380 dwellings per annum to 2021.
	The East of England Plan identifies a need for strategic green belt reviews at Hemel Hempstead, Welwyn Hatfield, Stevenage and around Harlow to permit those towns to develop further as Key Centres for Development and Change. It is not possible to predict the proportion of housing which may be built on land excluded from the green belt—that will depend on the Local Development Documents prepared by local planning authorities. However the East of England Plan also contains a requirement that 60 per cent. of new homes should be built on previously developed land.

Members: Pay

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the hon. Member for Truro and St. Austell is receiving  (a) payment from the public purse and  (b) expenses for his review of land use and planning.

Iain Wright: In accordance with Cabinet Office guidance, the hon. Member for Truro and St. Austell is not receiving payment to conduct his review but is able to claim out of pocket expenses associated with the role.

Mortgages

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many and what proportion of first time buyers took out mortgages of 100 per cent. or more of the purchase price of the property in each year for which figures are available from 1997 to 2005.

Iain Wright: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 12 December 2007,  Official Report, column 686W.

Non-Domestic Rates: Renewable Energy

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average additional contribution is of a ground source heat pump to the rental value of a business premises in the assessment of its rateable value for business rates by the Valuation Office Agency.

John Healey: Where business premises are heated this will normally increase the rental, and therefore rateable value, as compared to similar premises that are unheated. This will be the case whether the heating plant is of traditional design or a ground source heat pump is used.
	However, it is not possible, at reasonable cost, to identify those premises with ground source heat pumps and calculate the average addition for that portion of the rateable value attributable to ground source heat pumps.

Planning Permission: Fees and Charges

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the estimated change in revenue to be raised from the new planning charges system is.

Iain Wright: The community infrastructure levy (CIL) proposals in the Planning Bill would empower local planning authorities (LPAs) and other authorities to levy a charge to help fund the infrastructure needed to support housing growth and other new development. LPAs would need to decide whether to introduce a CIL in their areas and the level at which it was set. CIL has the potential to raise hundreds of millions of pounds of additional investment across England.

Planning: Retail Trade

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she plans to publish changes to Planning Policy Statement 6; and whether she plans to consult on those changes.

Iain Wright: The Government's response to the Planning White Paper consultation "Planning White Paper Consultation: Government response to consultation replies", which was published on 27 November 2007, reported that it remains our intention to consult on revisions to Planning Policy Statement 6: "Planning for town centres (PPS6)" early this year.

Public Expenditure

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library a copy of the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007 settlement letter from HM Treasury sent to her Department.

John Healey: Details of Communities and Local Government's (CLG) overall Comprehensive Spending Review 2007 settlement were published on 9 October 2007 as part of the 2007 pre-Budget report and Comprehensive Spending Review White Paper (Command Paper 7227). These were placed in the Library of the House at time of publication and can also be found on the HM Treasury website via:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/pbr_csr/report/pbr_csr07_repindex.cfm
	Further announcements of CLG programmes over the CSR period have been made following the CSR, including on 6 December 2007 as part of the provisional Local Government Finance settlement. Details of this can be found on the CLG website at:
	http://www.local.communities.gov.uk/finance/0809/grant.htm

Supporting People Programme: Finance

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding was allocated to the Supporting People budget in each year since its inception; and what the planned expenditure is in the next three years.

Iain Wright: I refer the hon. Member to the indicative allocations of funding for the next three years announced by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Planning on 6 December 2007,  Official Report, column 81WS. Funding since the inception of the Supporting People programme in 2003 is set out in the table as follows:
	
		
			   SP Grant (£ billion) 
			 2003-04 1.814 
			 2004-05 1.805 
			 2005-06 1.715 
			 2006-07 1.685 
			 2007-08 1.696

UK Location Strategy: Geographic Information Panel

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps the Geographic Information Panel have taken to engage the private sector in the development of the UK Location Strategy.

Iain Wright: Place Matters: The Location Strategy for the United Kingdom was developed by the United Kingdom Geographic Information Panel (GI Panel) during 2006 and 2007. Membership of the GI Panel was approved by the Minister responsible for the Panel in 2004, and is drawn from both public and private sectors, including a representative from the Association for Geographic Information representing the wider UK geographic information industry: over 50,000 companies and individual professionals from the private sector are represented on the Panel.
	The GI Panel appointed consultants to co-ordinate dialogue with a wide range of contributors from across the UK geographic information industry and related interests, representing both public and private sectors. Several workshops were arranged to gather views and discuss areas of concern. In addition wider contributions were invited by the consultants via the GI Panel website.
	These views were drawn together by the consultants; to formulate the draft Strategy which was then reviewed and refined by the Location Strategy Development Group, drawn from members of the GI Panel, and finally agreed by the GI Panel itself.

UK Location Strategy: Ordnance Survey

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what role the Ordnance Survey has in preparing the UK Location Strategy.

Iain Wright: Place Matters: The Location Strategy for the United Kingdom has been prepared and submitted to Ministers by the UK Geographic Information Panel (GI Panel).
	Ordnance Survey currently provides the secretariat to the GI Panel. This role involves administrative support and preparation and circulation of documentation for consideration by the GI Panel and others as appropriate, including during preparation of the Location Strategy.
	Vanessa Lawrence (Director General and Chief Executive of Ordnance Survey) is presently Chair of the GI Panel. She was planning to stand down in April 2007, but on the recommendation of the members of the GI Panel, the Minister reappointed her as Chair for a further period.
	In this role she has chaired meetings of both the GI Panel and the UK Location Strategy Development Group drawn from the Panel, she has facilitated meetings of relevant parties during the preparation of the Strategy, and on behalf of the GI Panel, has submitted the Location Strategy to Ministers.

Urban Areas: Finance

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding  (a) her Department,  (b) its predecessor and  (c) the Government Office for the South West has provided to the sustainability of land use and transport in outer neighbourhoods project.

Iain Wright: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Planning on 19 October 2006,  Official Report, column 1424W. The situation has not changed since that time. The then ODPM contributed £35,000 towards this project, which was part of a larger £1.75 million study being carried out by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
	No financial contributions were made by Government Office South West.

Afghanistan

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the statement by the Prime Minister of 12 December 2007,  Official Report, column 305, on Afghanistan, if he will make a statement on the national solidarity programme in Afghanistan.

Douglas Alexander: I have been asked to reply.
	In his recent statement on Afghanistan, the Prime Minister announced funding of £21.65 million for the next phase of the Government of Afghanistan's National Solidarity Programme (NSP). This reflects the UK Government's continued commitment to this important programme. NSP has been running since May 2003 and has so far reached over 20,500 communities, providing over $400 million to support more than 31,000 development projects in the areas of agriculture, education, emergency response, health, irrigation, legal livelihoods, power, public buildings, rural development, transport, water supply and sanitation.
	DFID has committed a total of almost £50 million to NSP since 2003. We provided £17 million for Phase I (2003-06) and have made available up to £10.9 million for the roll-out of NSP in Helmand (2006-09).

Embassies

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 10 December 2007,  Official Report, column 159W, on embassies, what arrangements are in place to provide alternative consular services in the case of each of the embassies, high commissions and consulates closed since May 1997.

David Miliband: Where a non-sovereign post (British consulate or British consulate general) has closed, consular services will be provided by either the sovereign post (embassy or high commission), or the nearest non-sovereign post in the country concerned, possibly through an honorary consul.
	Should a sovereign post close, an honorary consul, supervised by a neighbouring post will normally be appointed. In some countries where we have no representation, under reciprocal arrangements, either an EU member state or Commonwealth country that has representation in the country concerned may provide consular services in an emergency. Under article 20 of the treaty establishing the European Community, EU nationals in a country where their own state is not represented are entitled to consular protection from an embassy or consulate of another member state, on the same conditions as the nationals of that state.
	Our provision of consular services in those posts closed since May 1997 is as follows.
	
		
			  Posts closed since 1997-98 
			   Country  Post name  Status  Consular services 
			 1997-98 Colombia Barranquilla Consulate Covered by the Bogota Embassy 
			 1997-98 Switzerland Zurich Consulate General British Vice-Consulate reporting to Berne 
			 1998-99 Malaysia Kuching Consulate Honorary Consul reporting to Kuala Lumpur 
			 1998-99 Thailand Chiang Mai Consulate Honorary Consul reporting to Bangkok 
			 1999-2000 USA Cleveland Consulate Honorary Consul reporting to Chicago 
			 2000-01 Spain Seville Consulate Honorary Consul reporting to Malaga 
			 2003-04 Mali Bamako Embassy British Embassy Liaison Office in Canadian Embassy reporting to Accra 
			 2003-04 El Salvador San Salvador Embassy Honorary Consul reporting to Guatemala City 
			 2003-04 Honduras Tegucigalpa Embassy Honorary Consul reporting to Guatemala City 
			 2003-04 Nicaragua Managua Embassy Honorary Consul reporting to San Jose 
			 2004-05 Cameroon Douala Consulate Honorary Consul reporting to Yaounde 
			 2004-05 Portugal Oporto Consulate Honorary Consul reporting to Lisbon 
			 2005-06 Lesotho Maseru High Commission Honorary Consul reporting to Pretoria 
			 2005-06 Madagascar Antananarivo Embassy Honorary Consul reporting to Port Louis 
			 2005-06 Swaziland Mbabane High Commission Honorary Consul reporting to Pretoria 
			 2005-06 Cote d'Ivoire Abidjan Embassy UK based staff stationed in US Embassy reporting to Accra 
			 2005-06 Bahamas Nassau High Commission Honorary Consul reporting to Kingston 
			 2005-06 Paraguay Asuncion Embassy Honorary Consul reporting to Buenos Aires 
			 2005-06 USA Dallas Consulate Covered by Houston 
			 2005-06 USA San Juan (Puerto Rico) Consulate Honorary Consul reporting to Atlanta 
			 2005-06 Japan Fukuoka Consulate Covered by Osaka 
			 2005-06 Vanuatu Port Vila High Commission Reciprocal agreement with New Zealand High Commission, covered from Suva 
			 2005-06 Germany Frankfurt Consulate General Honorary Consul reporting to Dusseldorf 
			 2005-06 Germany Stuttgart Consulate General Honorary Consul reporting to Munich 
			 2005-06 Yemen Aden Consulate General Covered by Sana'a 
			 2005-06 Tonga Nuku' alofa High Commission Reciprocal agreement with NZ High Commission, covered from Suva 
			 2005-06 Haiti Port-au-Prince British Consulate Covered by British Embassy in the Dominican Republic 
			 2006-07 Australia Adelaide Consulate Honorary Consul reporting to Melbourne 
			 2006-07 East Timor Dili Embassy Covered by Jakarta 
			 2006-07 Germany Hamburg Consulate General Honorary Consul reporting to Berlin 
			 2006-07 Sweden Gothenberg Consulate General Honorary Consul reporting to Stockholm 
			 2006-07 St. Vincent and the Grenadines Kingston High Commission Honorary Consul reporting to Bridgetown 
			 2006-07 USA Seattle Consulate Honorary Consul reporting to San Francisco

Malaysia: Political Prisoners

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations his Department has made to the Malaysian Government on the imprisonment of Hindu Rights Action Force leaders P. Uthayakumar, M. Manoharan, V. Ganabatirau, R. Kenghadharan and T. Vasanthakumar under the Malaysian Internal Security Act.

Meg Munn: As yet, we have made no representations on these specific cases. However, we are considering these cases with our EU partners. The EU has previously expressed concern to the Malaysian government about the use of the Internal Security Act.

Malaysia: Political Prisoners

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations his Department has made to the Malaysian Government regarding Malaysia's Internal Security Act, with particular reference to its provisions which allow indefinite detention without charge or trial.

Meg Munn: We are discussing with our EU partners recent arrests under the Internal Security Act. The EU has previously expressed concern to the Malaysian government about the use of the Internal Security Act.

Maldives: Politics and Government

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations the UK has made to the Government of the Republic of the Maldives on human rights and the development of parliamentary democracy; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: I told the House on 17 October 2007,  Official Report, columns 939-942, during a debate on Maldives that we understood the challenges the Maldivian Government faces to adopt and implement multi-party liberal democracy that fully observes international human rights obligations.
	Maldives has acceded to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and is now a signatory to the six core UN human rights instruments. We welcome these developments. We have always made clear to the Maldivian Government the importance of meeting international obligations on human rights, including the full and transparent investigation of any human rights based allegations. We understand that a UN human rights adviser invited by the Maldivian Government are working with them on this.
	When my noble Friend the Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, the right hon. Lord Malloch-Brown, met President Gayoom of Maldives in July 2007, he underlined the need to keep the reform process on track and the importance of this year's elections being free, fair, inclusive and supported by the Maldivian people. In meetings with the Maldivian Foreign Minister, Abdulla Shahid, his deputy, Dhunya Maumoon, and with the Chairman of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party, senior Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials have emphasised the need for good faith among all political parties and for all to redouble efforts to implement democratic change in Maldives.

Middle East: Peace Negotiations

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what meetings he and  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in his Department have had in the last six months with officials from the Palestinian Authority to discuss progress on the Middle East peace plan; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary visited Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories from 17 to 19 November 2007 and met President Abbas, and Prime Minister Fayyad of the Palestinian Authority (PA). On 10 to 11 December 2007, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development, called on the President, the Prime Minister and a number of Palestinian officials. On 18 December, President Abbas visited London and held meetings with my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary.
	Officials at our Consulate General in Jerusalem have regular dialogue with a wide range of PA Ministers and officials.

Saudi Arabia: Human Rights

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on which occasions in the last 12 months he raised concerns about human rights in Saudi Arabia with  (a) the King of Saudi Arabia,  (b) members of the Government of Saudi Arabia and  (c) non-governmental organisations in Saudi Arabia.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not raised human rights with either the King, members of the Saudi government, or non-governmental organisations since coming to office on 27 June 2007. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not visited Saudi Arabia and has not met the King.
	Our ambassador in Riyadh raises human rights on a regular basis with the Saudi authorities as part of his day-to-day responsibilities.

Saudi Arabia: Punishment

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations were made to the King of Saudi Arabia on the recent threatened punishment of a 19 year old female rape victim.

Kim Howells: The Government raised the threatened punishment of a 19-year old rape victim with the Saudi authorities on several occasions, both before and after the case went to appeal. The Government also supported EU action co-ordinated by the German presidency in Riyadh.
	In December 2007, King Abdullah granted a Royal Pardon to the victim.

Carers: Finance

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what budget was allocated for carers and the carer's allowance in  (a) Dacorum and  (b) England in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: Funding for carers in general is a matter for my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health. For carer's allowance, which is paid for by DWP, no set budget is allocated. All claims that meet the conditions of entitlement are awarded. Details of expenditure on carer's allowance are in the following table.
	
		
			  Carer's allowance paid out in the local authority of Dacorum and in England 
			£ million cash terms  £ million in 2007-08 prices 
			   Status  Dacorum  England  Dacorum  England 
			 2003-04 Outturn 1.6 876.1 1.8 975.5 
			 2004-05 Outturn 1.7 912.8 1.8 989.0 
			 2005-06 Outturn 1.8 958.8 1.9 1017.6 
			 2006-07 Provisional outturn 1.8 996.8 1.9 1029.2 
			  Notes: 1. All figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred thousand pounds. 2. Prior to August 2003, carer's allowance (CA) figures were based on those with entitlement only. This means that caseloads cannot be broken down by whether or not a case is in payment. As a result, CA figures are restricted to August 2003 onwards. 3. All figures are consistent with the 2007 pre-Budget report and comprehensive spending review.  Source: Expenditure has been taken from departmental accounting systems and combined with 100 per cent. statistical data to identify the proportion of expenditure paid as carer's allowance in Dacorum and in England.

Child Support

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of Child Support Agency cases have been transferred from the original system to the 2003 system.

James Plaskitt: holding answer 20 November 2007
	 The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 9 January 2008:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of Child Support Agency cases have been transferred from the original system to the 2003 system.
	The total number of cases being handled by the Agency at the end of September 2007 can be found on Table 1 of the September 2007 Quarterly Summary of Statistics. A copy of this is available in the House of Commons Library, or on the internet via the following link: www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/child_support/csa_quarterly_sep07.asp.
	At the end of September 2007, 756,700 cases had transferred from the old computer system to the new computer system. 405,800 of these cases are currently being handled by the Agency. This represents 30 per cent of the total cases the Agency is currently handling. The remaining 350,900 cases are closed. Of the total cases transferred from the old computer system to the new computer system, the number which have then been transferred from an old scheme assessment to a new scheme assessment is 70,300. Of these, 69,400 are currently being handled by the Agency, representing 5 per cent of the total cases the Agency is currently handling. The remaining 900 cases are closed.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Child Support Agency: Bolton

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of staff at the Bolton Child Support Agency offices were employed  (a) on permanent contracts,  (b) on temporary contracts and  (c) via an employment agency in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 9 January 2007:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of staff at the Bolton Child Support Agency offices were employed (a) on permanent contracts (b) on temporary contracts and (c) via an employment agency in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.
	The Agency contracted out the management of its clerical cases to Vertex Data Science Ltd in September 2006. They process this work on our behalf at the Bolton site. The decision to contract out the management of clerical work was always a short-term measure which allowed the Agency to increase the number of people focusing on other improvement work outlined in the Operational Improvement Plan, including reducing the number of uncleared applications and strengthening enforcement. The intention has always been to make the necessary changes to our IT to allow these cases to be maintained on the Agency's computer systems.
	Vertex Data Science Ltd are therefore responsible for employing the necessary staff to deliver the service, under a contract which currently runs to September 2008. I can assure you however, that the procurement exercise undertaken to award the contract included a thorough evaluation of all recruitment and employment practices including HR policies, to ensure that they were compatible with those of the Department.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Conditions of Employment: Mental Health

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 27 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 27-30WS, on mental health and employment, when he expects to publish a national strategy for mental health and work; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: On 27 November we announced our intention to develop a national strategy for mental health and employment. The strategy will ensure that there is a coordinated response across Government to the challenges faced by people of working age with mental health conditions, improving their employment chances.
	We intend to appoint a stakeholder steering group, to be chaired by Dame Carol Black, the National Director for Health and Work, to oversee the development of the strategy. This steering group will be appointed in the new year and will then lead work on the development of the strategy which forms part of wider work on the health and employment agenda.
	The expansion of the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme at a cost of £170 million over three years, together with the £13 million now made available by DWP for additional support for GPs and employers represents a considerable Government commitment to supporting those with mental health conditions. This is in addition to the funding already committed to the roll-out of Pathways to Work, including the Condition Management programmes.

Conditions of Employment: Mental Health

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 27 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 27-30WS, on mental health and employment, what the evidential basis is for his statement that substantial progress has been made in mental health and employment since 1997.

Anne McGuire: Mental health and employment has been a long-standing problem, requiring a long-term solution. We have made progress in putting in place the necessary structures and initiatives which are already helping people with mental health conditions both obtain and remain in work.
	The latest employment rate for disabled people whose main health condition is mental illness, depression or anxiety is 22 per cent. (Labour Force Survey July-September 2007). The employment rate for this group has significantly improved since 1998 when the employment rate was around 15 per cent.
	Since 1997, there has been a significant increase in the funding provided for mental health services. We now have 55 per cent. more consultant psychiatrists than we had in 1997, almost 70 per cent. more clinical psychologists and at least 20 per cent. more mental health nurses. In October 2007, the Department of Health announced the expansion of the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme at a cost of £170 million over three years.
	Additionally, this Department has greatly increased the employment support it offers people with health conditions. Examples include the new deal for disabled people, including specialist individually tailored support and advice, as well as the piloting and continuing national roll-out of Pathways to Work, which includes the groundbreaking Condition Management Programmes.
	Furthermore, from October 2008 incapacity benefits will be replaced by the new employment and support allowance, a more positive benefit offering additional support for customers in return for increased responsibility on them to engage with Jobcentre Plus. Underpinning the allowance will be a new medical test, the work capability assessment. The new assessment's test of mental health will be significantly improved compared to the current personal capability assessment, dealing better with the challenges faced by people with mental health conditions and learning disabilities.

Conditions of Employment: Mental Health

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 27 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 27-30WS, on mental health and employment, how much his Department has spent on mental health services  (a) in total and  (b) as a percentage of departmental expenditure in each year since 1997.

Anne McGuire: Spending on mental health services generally, is a matter for my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health.
	This Department provides a range of services that provide help and support to people with mental health problems. These programmes are generally available to both those with mental and/or physical health problems. It is not possible to break down programme expenditure by specific health conditions.

Departmental ICT

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many attempted hacking or suspected cyber attacks or other malicious computer security breaches were committed against the computer systems of  (a) his Department and  (b) the Child Support Agency in each of the last three years for which information is available; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: It is not in the interests of the UK's national security for departments to confirm whether they hold information about attacks against their IT systems. This would enable individuals to deduce how successful the UK is in detecting these attacks and so assist such persons in testing the effectiveness of the UK's IT defences. This is not in the public interest.

Departmental Labour Turnover

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the percentage turnover of staff was in  (a) his Department and  (b) his Department's agencies in (i) the last 12-month period and (ii) the last 24-month period for which figures are available.

Anne McGuire: The percentage turnover of staff in the Department for Work and Pensions and its agencies for the 12 month period ending March 2006 and the 12 month period ending March 2007 is in the following table.
	
		
			   Percentage turnover 12-months ending March 2007  Percentage turnover 12-months ending March 2006 
			 DWP Overall 6.37 7.11 
			 Jobcentre Plus 6.12 6.69 
			 The Pension Service 7.46 8.68 
			 Child Support Agency 8.79 8.70 
			 Disability and Carers Service 4.62 5.89 
			 The Rent Service 5.87 8.28 
			 Appeals Service n/a 9.48 
			 Departmental Corporate Units 5.13 6.76 
			  Note: Appeals Service transferred to the Department for Constitutional Affairs on 1 April 2006.

National Insurance: Foreign Workers

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many national insurance numbers were issued to  (a) dependents of non-EU work permit holders,  (b) non-EU students,  (c) non-EU highly skilled migrants,  (d) non-EU International Graduate Scheme participants,  (e) non-EU Fresh Talent in Scotland Scheme participants,  (f) non-EU working holidaymakers and  (g) non-EU work permit holders since 1 January 2004, broken down by nationality;
	(2)  how many national insurance numbers were issued to non-EU citizens with leave to remain in the UK by virtue of  (a) refugee status,  (b) humanitarian protection,  (c) discretionary leave and  (d) leave under the backlog criteria between (i) 3 April 2002 and 31 December 2003 and (ii) 1 January 2004 to 5 April 2007;
	(3)  how many national insurance numbers were issued to  (a) dependents of non-EU work permit holders,  (b) non-EU students,  (c) non-EU highly skilled migrants,  (d) non-EU Fresh Talent Working in Scotland Scheme participants,  (e) non-EU working holidaymakers and  (f) non-EU work permit holders between (i) 3 April 2002 and 31 December 2003 and (ii) 1 January 2004 to 5 April 2007.

James Plaskitt: holding answer 12 November 2007
	The information requested is not available.
	Information on a foreign national's basis of stay in the United Kingdom is not held on NINO registrations database.

Cannabis: Misuse

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many finished consultant episodes resulting from the misuse of cannabis there were for  (a) patients aged under 18 years and  (b) patients aged over 18 years in (i) England and (ii) each strategic health authority area in each year from 1997-98 to 2006-07.

Dawn Primarolo: Information as requested is not collected.
	Data on the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS) is only available from April 2004, with national data on under-18s available from April 2005.
	The NDTMS does not monitor activity through 'finished consultant episodes'—the data relates to structured treatment activity for all those providing treatment for drug misuse and records those who attend specialist drug treatment services only.
	The following data shows the number of individuals who received drug treatment for cannabis, and is broken down by SHA. There are separate figures for adults (over 18) and young people (under 18) in 2005-06 and 2006-07, and figures for over 18s only for 2004-05.
	 2006-07 data
	 England total
	Total over 18s receiving treatment of cannabis was 16,685
	Total under 18s receiving treatment of cannabis was 9,259
	
		
			  Data by strategic health authority (SHA)  18 and over 18  Under 18  Total 
			 East Midlands SHA 1,185 747 1,932 
			 East of England SHA 1,833 523 2,356 
			 London SHA 4,000 2,007 6,007 
			 North East SHA 822 605 1,427 
			 North West SHA 2,631 1,949 4,580 
			 South Central SHA 697 568 1,265 
			 South East Coast SHA 958 617 1,575 
			 South West SHA 1,688 722 2,410 
			 West Midlands SHA 1,426 862 2,288 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber SHA 1,445 659 2,104 
			 Total 16,685 9,259 2,5944 
			  Source: NDTMS 
		
	
	 2005-06 data
	 England total
	Total over 18s receiving treatment of cannabis was 14,828
	Total under 18s receiving treatment of cannabis was 8,014
	
		
			  Data by SHA  18 and over  18  Under  18  Total 
			 Avon Gloucestershire and Wiltshire SHA 670 375 1,045 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire SHA 524 95 619 
			 Birmingham and The Black Country SHA 592 383 975 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside SHA 761 491 1,252 
			 County Durham and Tees Valley SHA 304 264 568 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire SHA 349 126 475 
			 Dorset and Somerset SHA 393 119 512 
			 Essex SHA 800 126 926 
			 Greater Manchester SHA 1,039 839 1,878 
			 Hampshire and Isle Of Wight SHA 492 184 676 
			 Kent and Medway SHA 394 149 543 
			 Leicestershire Northamptonshire and Rutland SHA 209 180 389 
			 Norfolk Suffolk and Cambridgeshire SHA 566 160 726 
			 North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire SHA 504 222 726 
			 North Central London SHA 505 359 864 
			 North East London SHA 606 226 832 
			 North West London SHA 1,005 343 1,348 
			 Northumberland Tyne and Wear SHA 447 432 879 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire SHA 202 177 379 
			 South East London SHA 560 276 836 
			 South West London SHA 678 368 1,046 
			 South West Peninsula SHA 371 228 599 
			 South Yorkshire SHA 345 151 496 
			 Surrey and Sussex SHA 525 472 997 
			 Thames Valley SHA 453 304 757 
			 Trent SHA 669 525 1,194 
			 West Midlands South SHA 285 121 406 
			 West Yorkshire SHA 580 319 899 
			 Total 14,828 8014 22,842 
			  Source: NDTMS 
		
	
	 Data for 2004-05
	 England total
	Total over 18s receiving treatment of cannabis was 11,057
	
		
			  Data by SHA  18 and over 18s 
			 Avon Gloucestershire and Wiltshire SHA 449 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire SHA 535 
			 Birmingham and The Black Country SHA 357 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside SHA 356 
			 County Durham and Tees Valley SHA 215 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire SHA 201 
			 Dorset and Somerset SHA 320 
			 Essex SHA 630 
			 Greater Manchester SHA 611 
			 Hampshire and Isle Of Wight SHA 473 
			 Kent and Medway SHA 473 
			 Leicestershire Northamptonshire and Rutland SHA 150 
			 Norfolk Suffolk and Cambridgeshire SHA 513 
			 North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire SHA 417 
			 North Central London SHA 397 
			 North East London SHA 422 
			 North West London SHA 649 
			 Northumberland Tyne and Wear SHA 452 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire SHA 155 
			 South East London SHA 350 
			 South West London SHA 565 
			 South West Peninsula SHA 227 
			 South Yorkshire SHA 208 
			 Surrey and Sussex SHA 429 
			 Thames Valley SHA 302 
			 Trent SHA 550 
			 West Midlands South SHA 256 
			 West Yorkshire SHA 395 
			 Total 11,057 
			  Source: NDTMS

Chiropody: Waiting Lists

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the maximum waiting time target is for NHS chiropody services; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: Chiropody treatment is included in the 18-week maximum waiting time target if a consultant-led service decides that chiropody is the best treatment to manage the patient's disease, condition or injury and avoid further interventions.
	Detailed rules and definitions for the 18-week target are available at www.18weeks.nhs.uk
	Other access to chiropody services is matter for primary care trusts based on the assessed needs of their local population. Guidance is included in the national service frameworks for older people, diabetes, and long-term conditions, and the White Paper "Our health, our care, our say: a new direction for community services".

Exercise: Elderly

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with his Ministerial colleagues on the promotion of physical activity to older people; and whether his Department is taking the lead on promotion of physical activity to older people.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department has an important role in promoting the benefits of physical activity for all as set out in the Chief Medical Officers report "At least five a week: Evidence on the impact of physical activity and its relationship to health". We have worked closely with other Government Departments, including the Department for Culture Media and Sport, the Department for Children, Families and Schools and the Department for Transport to deliver the existing strategy for physical activity set out: in "Choosing Activity: a physical activity action plan".
	The Local Exercise Action Pilots, which took place across the English regions between 2003 and 2005 demonstrated that community-based interventions can be effective in promoting physical activity in older people. More recently, the Hull Swim for Health and three of the Everyday Swim pilots are evaluating the promotion of swimming when targeted towards older age groups.
	We have also made £60 million ring-fenced funding (£20 million in 2006-07 and £40 million in 2007-08) available to approximately 30 council-led partnerships across the country as part of Partnerships for Older People Projects to evaluate innovative approaches to help older people to live healthy, independent and fulfilling lives for as long as possible.
	HM Treasury has asked my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (James Purnell), to develop a new strategy for Sport England. Ministers have also agreed to work closely over the next few months to ensure that all relevant Government Departments are working together to deliver a physical activity strategy for all. Any changes in responsibilities for policy on physical activity, including the promotion of physical activity to older people would emerge from this work.

Genetic Counsellors

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many specialist genetic counsellors there were in each primary care trust in each of the last three years.

Ann Keen: Genetic counsellors are not identified as a separate professional grouping in the Department's work force data and so we do not have information on the number of genetic counsellors in primary care trusts. The majority of genetic counsellors work within regional genetic services which are based in tertiary centres.
	The Department is funding an additional 50 trainee genetic counsellor posts through the genetics White Paper "Our Inheritance, Our Future - realising the potential of genetics in the NHS" (June 2003).

Genito-Urinary Medicine

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of attenders at genito-urinary medicine clinics was recorded as not having been given an appointment within two weeks in each audit of genito-urinary medicine clinic waiting times undertaken by the Health Protection Agency since May 2004.

Dawn Primarolo: The genito-urinary clinic (GUM) waiting times audit collected data on waiting times for all GUM clinics in England for a period of one week every quarter. It ran from May 2004 to August 2007. All patients attending a GUM clinic with a new episode or registering for the first time were asked to complete the short questionnaire on waiting times. Data are presented on the proportion of attendees recorded as not having been offered an appointment within two weeks of each audit since May 2004.
	Data on waiting times are now collected for all attendances of clinics through the Genito-urinary Medicine Access Monthly Monitoring (GUMAMM) data set. The equivalent data for October 2007 is 4,470 number of attendees not offered an appointment within two weeks of contacting a clinic, 117,744 number of first attendances and 3.8 per cent. of attendees not offered an appointment within two weeks of contacting a clinic.
	
		
			  Number and proportion of attendees recorded as not having been given an appointment within two weeks of contacting the GUM clinic: results from one-week quarterly waiting times audit of GUM clinics in England 
			  Date of one-week audit  Number of attendees not offered an appointment within two weeks of contacting clinic  Number of attendees  Percentage of attendees not offered an appointment within two weeks of contacting clinic 
			  2004
			 May 3,916 13,683 29 
			 November 3,565 13,892 26 
			  2005
			 May 4,137 16,441 25 
			 August 3,204 15,038 21 
			 November 3,152 15,162 21 
			  2006
			 February 2,648 15,302 17 
			 May 2,561 16,628 15 
			 August 2,163 16,553 13 
			 November 1,760 17,490 10 
			  2007
			 February 1,523 18,691 8 
			 May 1,280 18,986 7 
			 August 1,127 19,779 6

Haemophilus Influenza

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the UK is affected by the decision by Merck to recall doses of haemophilus influenza type b (Hib) vaccine.

Dawn Primarolo: No. The recall of haemophilus influenza type b vaccine produced by Merck does not affect the United Kingdom because the product recalled is not used in our UK national immunisation programme.

Health Education

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the evidential basis is for the statement in paragraph 3.52 of his Department's Cancer Reform Strategy that adopting a health-related social marketing campaign is  (a) improving people's health and  (b) reducing inequalities.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department commissioned a review—"It's our health"—of social marketing and its potential application in the health arena.
	The review was undertaken jointly by the National Consumer Council and the National Social Marketing Centre and reported in June 2006.
	The review found examples of initiatives whose impact was enhanced by systematically applying social marketing core concepts and techniques. Social marketing also helped to achieve behavioural goals and directly supported service development and reduced health inequalities.
	An example used was:
	Food Dudes (Bangor Food Research Unit at the School of Psychology, University of Wales Bangor, 1992 to present).
	The initiative was to promote healthy eating in children.
	The initiative greatly increased and sustained the quantity and range of fruit and vegetables consumed by children, especially those who ate least at the outset. Two projects found:
	Children in a school in Brixton more than doubled their lunchtime consumption of fruit; and
	Children in a school in Salford tripled their lunchtime consumption of vegetables.

Health: Migration

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect on health inequalities of  (a) migration and  (b) poverty.

Dawn Primarolo: The impact of immigration on health is more directly reflected in the health status and the underpinning determinants of health of specific ethnic minority groups, than of immigration. In general, we know there is a strong link between ethnicity, deprivation and poor health, but it is also important to recognise that there is considerable diversity between different ethnic groups. No specific studies have been recently commissioned by the Department into the general impact of internal migration.
	The impact of poverty including relative income, child poverty and fuel poverty on health status and so on health inequalities has long been recognised. Sir Donald Acheson's 'Inquiry into Inequalities in Health', which was commissioned by the Government, highlighted the issues around poverty and income, education, employment and environment. This approach reflected the scientific evidence that emphasised the interrelated nature of the causes of these inequalities. The Government's strategy 'Tackling Health Inequalities: A Programme for Action', set out the Government's response to these issues including poverty.

Healthy Start Vouchers

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of those eligible have taken up Healthy Start vouchers in  (a) Leyton and Wanstead constituency,  (b) Redbridge,  (c) Waltham Forest,  (d) London and  (e) England.

Dawn Primarolo: The number of women and children eligible for Healthy Start at any given point in time varies. However, we estimate that take up of the scheme in England is currently approximately 87 per cent. This is equivalent to around 342,000 beneficiary households.
	Information on take up at a local level is not yet available, but we are planning to extract information from the Healthy Start database at strategic health authority or primary care trust level later in 2008. This will enable us to provide feedback to the national health service on the impact of Healthy Start at a local level to support local delivery of public health policies.

Human Embryo Experiments

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what files are held by his Department on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill of session 1989-90.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department holds approximately 30 file titles concerning the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill 1990.

Human Papilloma Virus: Vaccination

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the human papilloma virus  (a) vaccination and  (b) screening programme; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccines have been shown to be extremely effective in protecting women against the HPV strains that cause 70 per cent. of cervical cancers. The vaccine needs to be given before girls become exposed to the virus in order to provide protection.
	The National Health Service Cervical Screening Programme is likely to continue for many years after the introduction of the HPV vaccine. This is because the vaccines only offer protection against 70 per cent. of cancer causing HPV types, and it will be 13 years before the first 12-year-olds vaccinated will be eligible for cervical screening. Screening will also still need to be offered to women up to the age of 64 who will not have been vaccinated.
	As part of the Liquid Based Cytology (LBC) pilot, which evaluated the use of the LBC technique in cervical screening, HPV testing as triage for women with mild or borderline test results was also piloted.
	Following receipt of the positive independent evaluation of the HPV arm of the pilot, the Advisory Committee on Cervical Screening set up a dedicated working group to advise on how best to introduce HPV testing into the cervical screening programme.
	As a result of this, a number of sentinel sites began triaging women with mild and borderline screening results in late 2007. Results from these sites will be known by 2009 at which point further roll out can be considered.

In Vitro Fertilisation

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many embryos from in vitro fertilisation programmes have been  (a) donated to and  (b) created for scientific research in each year since 1999.

Dawn Primarolo: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has informed me that its register indicates that only two embryos have been created specifically for research purposes and this occurred in 2001.
	Virtually all of the embryos used in research have been donated by patients who no longer wished to use them in their own treatment. The number of embryos donated for research purposes each year since 1999 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Embryos donated for research purposes since 1999 
			   Number of embryos donated for research 
			 1999 5087 
			 2000 5302 
			 2001 4190 
			 2002 4527 
			 2003 3737 
			 2004 3649 
			 2005 4456 
			 2006 3244 
			  Source: A long-term analysis of the HFEA register data 1991-2006, HFEA June 2007

Industrial Diseases

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many specialist consultants in the NHS there are who treat patients with  (a) chronic bronchitis and  (b) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Ann Keen: The number of specialist consultants in the national health service who treat patients with chronic bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is not collated, however such information is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Hospital and community health services: medical staff within the cardiology and respiratory medicine specialties ,  England at 30 September 2006 
			  Number, headcount 
			   All staff  Of which :  consultant 
			 All specialties 93,320 32,874 
			  Of which:   
			 Cardiology 2,056 752 
			 Cardiothoracic surgery 717 240 
			 Respiratory medicine 1,451 583 
			  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care Medical and Dental Workforce Census.

Influenza

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether he has identified triggers at which point the use of antivirals in the event of an influenza pandemic becomes so great that the introduction of clinical prioritisation will be necessary;
	(2)  whether the Government intends to consult on proposals for the clinical prioritisation of antivirals in the event of the stockpile of antivirals becoming depleted, as stated on page 38 of his Department's National Framework for responding to an influenza pandemic.

Dawn Primarolo: The current antiviral stockpile should be sufficient to treat all of those who fall ill in a pandemic of similar proportions to previous ones in the 20(th) century but we recognise that prioritisation may need to be triggered if the clinical attack rate is higher than anticipated and/or antivirals are in greater demand than anticipated.
	There is less likelihood of the need for prioritisation of antivirals as the stockpile is increased to reflect the potential for a higher clinical attack rate.
	The Government have already consulted on the ethical principles underlying issues such as prioritisation but their implications will need to be reviewed and updated in the light of emerging scientific and other information at the time of a pandemic. Further testing of the public's reactions to many issues in pandemic planning and decision-making will start with an engagement programme to facilitate this process, with the active participation of the public, beginning in the new year.

Influenza

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what means he has established to allow for the  (a) assessment of the clinical attack rate of the first wave of a pandemic,  (b) monitoring of the pandemic virus for genetic mutations which may affect the degree of protection and  (c) monitoring of the pandemic virus for antiviral susceptibility, in between waves of a pandemic, as recommended on page 71 of his Department's National Framework for responding to an influenza pandemic, published on 22 November; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: For all three surveillance elements mentioned, international information exchange, led by the World Health Organisation (WHO), will play an important role. The United Kingdom is actively engaged in international surveillance work and planning via both the WHO and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
	It is envisaged that some information allowing estimation of the possible UK clinical attack rate of the first wave of a pandemic will be obtained via the WHO from the country of origin of the pandemic. Once within the UK, it is planned that more detailed data on the first few hundred UK cases will be obtained via the currently being developed pandemic influenza management system. This is an extension of the Health Protection Agency's avian influenza database. This will allow more accurate estimates of the UK clinical attack rate. Analysis of calls to the Flu Line, combined with real time modelling, will continuously improve the accuracy of the estimate of the clinical attack rate as the pandemic progresses. Adaptation of existing surveillance systems and development of new systems is under consideration to further improve upon the clinical impact data available in the course of a pandemic.
	Genetic analyses of the pandemic virus will be performed by the National Respiratory Virus Reference Unit in Colindale, which includes the WHO National Influenza laboratory. Analyses will be performed throughout the pandemic. The sampling schedule will change in the course of the pandemic. International information exchange, led by the WHO, will also provide valuable genetic monitoring information in the global course of the pandemic.
	The UK is an active participant in the Neuraminidase Inhibitor Susceptibility Network which monitors susceptibility of neuraminidase inhibitors to influenza viruses found in the community. Influenza neuraminidase inhibitor antiviral susceptibility testing in the UK is provided at the National Influenza Centre in Colindale. Surveillance systems currently under consideration for use during a pandemic, are also being evaluated as to their potential to provide data on the proportion of antiviral treatment failures, both to inform on the potential development of resistant a virus and to improve on treatment regimes.

Influenza

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what stockpiles of medicines have been available in each of the last three years for use in an influenza epidemic;
	(2)  when he intends to place orders for additional  (a) antivirals and  (b) antibiotics; and when he expects to have procured the intended numbers of each;
	(3)  for what reasons the Government plans to stockpile 14.7 million treatment courses of antibiotics;
	(4)  what role he proposes for NHS walk-in centres in the event of an influenza pandemic;
	(5)  which  (a) organisation and  (b) individuals his Department is consulting to (i) develop a suitable algorithm and (ii) produce model protocols/guidelines to allow the supply of oseltamivir during an influenza pandemic, as stated on page 102 of his Department's National Framework for responding to an influenza pandemic; when he intends the (A) algorithm and (B) model protocols/guidelines to have been finalised; and if he will make a statement;
	(6)  whether he intends the National Flu Line service, as described in his Department's National Framework for responding to an influenza pandemic, to be delivered through NHS Direct.

Dawn Primarolo: Antivirals are a key part of the Government response to an influenza pandemic, as stated in the National framework for responding to an influenza pandemic. We have stockpiled 14.6 million doses of Tamiflu, sufficient to treat 25 per cent, of the United Kingdom population. Due to the logistical issues involved in building up such a large stockpile, supplies were delivered over a period between August 2005 and September 2006.
	We plan to increase our stockpile of antivirals and antibiotics but a precise timeline can not be given. This is because the procurement of the additional countermeasures will be subject to normal commercial procurement procedures to ensure we purchase these products at the best price and achieve value for money.
	The Government are increasing its stock of antibiotics to treat the complications arising from an influenza pandemic. It will enable us to provide antibiotics to vulnerable symptomatic flu patients before secondary complications develop.
	NHS Direct have been asked to lead on the development: of the National Flu Line Service. The project team is working towards the delivery of the initial phase of the system by towards the end of 2008.
	During a pandemic, national health service walk-in centres will be critical in continuing to provide fast access to health advice and treatment. They will continue to work alongside existing services in providing access to health advice, information and treatment of minor illnesses. Symptomatic patients will be encouraged to remain at home (to limit spread of the influenza virus) and contact the National Flu Line service as a first port of call.
	The national clinical algorithm that will be used on the Flu Line Service to assess patients and determine their eligibility to antiviral treatment during a pandemic, has been developed with the involvement of a wide range of stakeholders. These include expert clinicians and professionals from across the UK, representatives of specific health and social care services (including the ambulance service for example) and representatives from the appropriate Royal Colleges. The algorithm is in the final stages of development and will be published shortly.
	The protocol and guidelines that will allow the issuing of antiviral medicines has also been developed with input from a wide range of professionals, and are currently subject to public consultation as described in the 'Possible amendments to medicines and associated legislation during an influenza pandemic consultation' document. The protocol and guidelines will be finalised after the consultation period ends on 22 February 2008.

Influenza

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the statement of 22 November 2006,  Official Report, column 1350, on pandemic influenza, for what reasons the stockpiles of  (a) antibiotics,  (b) pre-pandemic vaccines and  (c) antivirals announced in his statement differ to the sizes of stockpiles recommended by his Department's Pandemic Influenza Scientific Advisory Group in its subgroup on modelling: modelling summary published in November 2007.

Dawn Primarolo: The Scientific Advisory Group modelling sub-group summary does not recommend any specific stockpile levels. It summarises the outcomes of calculated simulations of several different situations taking a variety of counter measures options, clinical attack rates and case fatality rates as scenarios.
	The scenarios discussed in the modelling summary paper include stockpiles of antibiotics of 0.4 per cent. and 14 per cent., pre-pandemic vaccines of 2 per cent., 40 per cent. and 100 per cent., and antivirals of 25 per cent., 75 per cent. and 100 per cent. population coverage. The outcomes of simulations of these scenarios are taken into account, as well as a variety of important but non-scientific considerations, when deciding on the stockpile levels to be purchased.

Influenza

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the evidential basis is for his statement that pandemic influenza plans are in place in most key sectors, as stated in paragraph 4.11.2 of his Department's National Framework for responding to an influenza pandemic.

Dawn Primarolo: All Government Departments are directly or indirectly involved in preparing for an influenza pandemic and play an active role in informing and supporting contingency planning in their areas of responsibility, including public and private sector organisations. Departments work closely with these sectors to promote business continuity management and facilitate robust and resilient planning to deal with a wide range of emergencies, including an influenza pandemic. To facilitate sectoral planning central Government Departments have issued guidance specific to pandemic planning and regularly meet with stakeholders to update them on the emerging situation and to provide advice.
	The evidence that supports the statement that pandemic influenza plans are in place in most key sectors, as stated in paragraph 4.11.2, includes:
	The National Capabilities Survey (NCS). The confidential survey goes out to organisations providing essential services; as well as local emergency responders, regional government offices and central Government Departments. This includes the private sector. The results of the last NCS survey in 2006, showed that, in the main, the essential services had well established business continuity plans, which were designed to prepare for, respond to, and recover from, a whole range of risks including an influenza pandemic. The NCS 2008 will give us a more detailed picture, by evaluating recent progress and exploring these issues in greater depth;
	Exercise Winter Willow—Over 5,000 people from government, industry and the voluntary sector participated in Exercise Winter Willow, with a common aim to review and validate our preparations and plans for the major challenges that an influenza pandemic would bring. This was supported by a number of sector specific exercises; and
	Stakeholder engagement—The Cabinet Office and other Government Departments meet regularly with representatives from public and private sector bodies (through the business forum and other ad hoc meetings) to review the development of plans and to disseminate good practice.

Influenza

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the evidential basis is for his statement on page 32 of his Department's National Framework for responding to an influenza pandemic, that fuel supplies are expected to be maintained in the event of an influenza pandemic.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (DBERR) continues to work closely with all its stakeholders in the fuel, energy, telecommunications and postal services sectors to ensure that they recognise the impact a pandemic would have on the United Kingdom and factor this into their business continuity plans so that any disruption to consumers is minimised.
	We have continued to keep them up to date with Government policy and planning as set out in the National Framework. Should it become necessary, DBERR and industry, in consultation with other stakeholders, would introduce a range of measures to ensure that essential supplies and services will be maintained. Planning by fuel suppliers is aimed at maintaining near-normal levels.
	The results from the last National Capabilities Survey (NCS—a confidential survey which goes out to organisations providing essential services, including the private sector; as well as local emergency responders, regional Government offices and central Government Departments) in 2006, also showed that, in the main, the essential services had well established business continuity plans, which were designed to prepare for, respond to, and recover from a whole range of risks including an influenza pandemic.
	The NCS 2008 will give us a more detailed picture, by evaluating recent progress and exploring these issues in greater depth.
	Critical national infrastructure industries also took part in the winter willow exercise in 2007.

Influenza

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the evidential basis is for the statement that a high efficacy vaccine given to 75 per cent. of the population will eliminate further pandemic waves, as stated in paragraph 7.41 of the Cabinet Office's document Overarching Government strategy to respond to pandemic influenza: analysis of the scientific evidence base.

Dawn Primarolo: The statement follows from epidemiological theory for a disease in which one infected person generally infects less than two or so others. This is understood to be likely for a future pandemic influenza based on previous pandemics and seasonal influenza, although the exact properties of such a virus cannot be known in advance.

Influenza

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans the Government has to procure a central stockpile of  (a) aprons and  (b) gloves for use by health and social care staff in the event of an influenza pandemic.

Dawn Primarolo: Used correctly, disposable gloves and aprons will increase protection and support good hygiene practice in primary and secondary health care. The quantities and type of products needed and the options for procuring them are currently under consideration.

Influenza Vaccines: Finance

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the cost to the public purse has been of the provision of influenza vaccines in 2007-08;
	(2)  what representations he has received from the voluntary sector on the possible use of influenza vaccines returned by GPs or hospitals;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the number of unused influenza vaccines that will be returned by GPs in the next 12 months;
	(4)  how many unused influenza vaccines were returned by  (a) hospitals,  (b) GPs and  (c) other establishments in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: We estimate that the influenza vaccination programme costs in the order of about £150 million.
	The Government do not purchase flu vaccine on behalf of individual general practitioners (GPs) or hospitals. GPs order their own supplies of flu vaccine from the supplier(s) of their choice based on the number of eligible patients on their register.
	No representations have been received from the voluntary sector on the possible use of influenza vaccines returned by GPs or hospitals.
	Information of the numbers of vaccines returned to manufacturers is commercially confidential.
	Information on the number of unused influenza vaccines returned by hospitals, GPs and other establishments in each of the last three years is not held centrally.

Influenza: Disease Control

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the purchase of disposable respirators and face masks for a possible flu pandemic will be sourced in the UK.

Dawn Primarolo: The purchase of disposable face masks and respirators will be done in accordance with European Union procurement legislation and also take full account of the ability of manufacturers to supply the numbers of products needed, wherever they are located.

Influenza: Vaccination

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research has been commissioned by his Department since 1997 on the effectiveness of the seasonal influenza immunisation programme; and if he will place copies of this research in the Library.

Dawn Primarolo: Two research projects(1) have been commissioned by the Department to study the effectiveness of the influenza immunisation programme for health care workers. The first studied the effectiveness of vaccinating care staff in preventing illness among residents of care homes. The second study looked at how well the health care worker vaccination policy was being implemented and the attitudes of health care workers to flu vaccination. The papers have been published in the scientific literature, and a copy has been placed in the Library.
	(1)( )Hayward A.C., Marling R., Wetten S., Johnson A.M., Munro S., Smedley J., Murad S., Watson J.M.
	'Effectiveness of an influenza vaccine programme for care home staff to prevent death, morbidity, and health service use among residents: cluster randomised controlled trial'.
	BMJ. 2006 Dec 16;333(7581):1241. Epub 2006 Dec 1.
	www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=17142257&ordinalpos=3&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_Results Panel.Pubmed_RVDocSum
	Smedley J., Poole J., Waclawski E., Stevens A., Harrison J., Watson J., Hayward A., Coggon D.
	'Influenza immunisation: attitudes and beliefs of UK healthcare workers'.
	Occup Environ Med. 2007 Apr;64(4):223-7. Epub 2006 Dec 20
	www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=17182640&ordinalpos=l&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_Results Panel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

Information Centre for Health and Social Care

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what dates since January 2007 the Information Centre for Health and Social Care has had discussions with the Prescription Pricing Division of the NHS Business Services Authority; and what the content was of such discussions.

Dawn Primarolo: This is a matter for the chief executive of the Information Centre for health and social care.

Lyme Disease

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the adequacy of blood tests as a tool for diagnosis of late-stage Lyme disease; and what other tools for diagnosis he is considering.

Dawn Primarolo: Blood testing to confirm late stage Lyme disease is undertaken for the national health service by the Health Protection Agency's (HPA) Lyme disease Reference Laboratory. This laboratory is fully accredited and the tests conform to the internationally agreed testing criteria for "Borrdia burgdorferi", the causative agent of Lyme disease, based upon stringent interpretation of serological test results. The testing is a two stage process: testing for the presence of antibodies to "B. burgdorferi" followed by specific immunoblot (Western blot) tests on all specimens that react in preliminary tests. The significance of the results are then carefully assessed in the light of the patient's clinical signs and exposure history to ticks. This two stage testing procedure is carried out by world-renowned experts at the HPA's Lyme disease reference unit and supports the clinical assessment to provide the most accurate diagnosis. These tests are freely available to clinicians in the NHS. A small group led by the Inspector of Microbiology reviewed the testing methodology in 2006 and we are satisfied that the tests available to the NHS are adequate for the diagnosis of late-stage Lyme disease.
	Molecular diagnostic tests have been developed for detection of "B. burgdorferi" and can be a useful in particular circumstances such as a diagnostic test on joint fluids in patients with suspected chronic Lyme arthritis. Such tests are not yet considered useful as a routine diagnostic tool. Direct detection by culture of "B. burgdorferi" is not useful for the diagnosis of late-stage Lyme disease.
	The Chief Medical Officer's Inspector of Microbiology undertook a thorough investigation in 2006 of unorthodox and unvalidated blood tests offered by some non-NHS practitioners to make a diagnosis of Lyme disease in patients with medically unexplained symptoms similar to those of late stage Lyme disease. He found such unvalidated tests wholly unsuitable for the diagnosis of late-stage Lyme disease. His report is available at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/documents/digitalasset/dh_4138917.pdf

Skin Cancer: Health Education

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when his Department initiated the SunSmart campaign; how much funding his Department has committed to the SunSmart campaign in each year since its launch; what anticipated expenditure on the SunSmart campaign is in each year until 2010-11; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what the evidential basis is for the statement in Box 6 of his Department's Cancer Reform Strategy, that the SunSmart campaign has  (a) increased knowledge of the causes of skin cancer,  (b) increased awareness of actions that can be taken to prevent skin cancer and  (c) positively influenced behaviour change among defined target groups; and what the defined target groups are.

Dawn Primarolo: The SunSmart campaign was launched in March 2003. Cancer Research UK applied to the Department for funding under the provisions of S64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968 for the campaign and received around £20,000 in 2003-04 and subsequently has received under the S64 provisions £72,000 for 2004-05, £145,000 for 2005-06, £150,000 for 2006-07 and £104,000 for 2007-08. Also provisionally and subject to the availability of funds approved by Parliament Cancer Research UK will receive for the SunSmart campaign £110,000 for 2008-09, and £115,000 for 2009-10. The recently published Cancer Reform Strategy refers to a government commitment to increased funding for skin cancer awareness programmes.
	Evidence from the Office for National Statistics Omnibus survey has been used by the SunSmart campaign to gauge trends in sun protection knowledge, attitudes and behaviour. There is evidence of significant improvement in people's knowledge about specific risky behaviours. The campaign has targeted different high risk audience groups each year (for example teenagers and young adults in 2005).

Vaccination

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will publish copies of  (a) correspondence with members of the Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisation (JCVI) on Connecting for Health and  (b) minutes of JCVI meetings at which Connecting for Health was discussed in the last 18 months;
	(2)  what concerns about the electronic care record system have been  (a) communicated to him and  (b) raised by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.

Dawn Primarolo: A copy of the correspondence between Professor Andrew Hall and the former Minister of State (Caroline Flint), has been placed in the Library.
	The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) discussed issues relating to NHS Connecting for Health at its meetings on: 15 February 2006, 21 June 2006, 18 October 2006, 14 February 2007 and 20 June 2007. These minutes are available on the JCVI website, and a copy of each set of minutes has been placed in the Library.

Northern Ireland: Fuel Laundering

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many fuel laundering plants have been closed by HM Revenue and Customs and the police in Northern Ireland in the last 12 months; and how many arrests have been made in respect of these actions.

Jane Kennedy: In Northern Ireland, in the period January 2007 to date, a total of eight laundering plants have been dismantled by HM Revenue and Customs and five arrests were made in relation to these operations. HM Revenue and Customs are solely responsible for dealing with fuel laundering plants, any that are initially detected by the Police Service Northern Ireland are immediately referred to HMRC for action.

Office of Government Commerce

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library a copy of the guidance note produced by the Office for Government Commerce on social issues in purchasing.

Angela Eagle: A copy of the information requested has been placed in the Library.

Office of Government Commerce

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what procurement guidance the Office for Government Commerce has produced for local authorities, on the purchase of receptacles for the collection of household rubbish.

Angela Eagle: The Office of Government Commerce has not produced specific guidance for local authorities on the purchase of receptacles for the collection of household rubbish.

Departmental Data Protection

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many confirmed security breaches of databases controlled by his Department occurred in each of the last five years; whether the breach resulted from internal or external sources in each case; how many records were compromised on each occasion; and what estimate was made of the total number of records accessible to the individuals concerned.

Kevin Brennan: holding answer 17 December 2007
	Except in exceptional cases, when it is in the public interest, it has been the policy of successive governments not to comment on breaches of security.

Departmental Equality

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much has been spent by his Department  (a) in total and  (b) on staff costs on promoting equality and diversity in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and how many people are employed by his Department for this purpose.

Kevin Brennan: The Department for Children Schools and Families is committed to an agenda to narrow inequality. Under the relevant legal duties all members of the Department have a responsibility for promoting disability, ethnicity, arid gender equality. Tackling inequality is central to raising attainment and improving life chances. Details of the Department's total resources are published in our annual reports. As a Department we also aim to be an exemplary employer, ensuring that all staff have an equal opportunity to meet their aspirations and realise their potential
	In the former DFES, and now at DCSF, 13 people are dedicated to work on anti discrimination law, mainstreaming a focus on equality into all policy making, and on achieving equality as an employer. The budget for this in 2007-08 is £681,530; broken down as: salaries £514,067; other related costs £167,463.
	The budget for 2006-07 was £725,216—salaries £563,959; other related costs £161,257.
	The budget for 2005-06 was £675,111—salaries £580,421; other related costs £94,690.

GCE A-Level: Standards

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of children identified as gifted and talented have achieved three A grades at A-level in each of the last three years.

Jim Knight: The proportion of students aged 16 to 18 identified as gifted and talented in maintained schools who achieved three A grades at A level in 2006 was 29.6 per cent. The corresponding figure for 2007 was 29.1 per cent. These figures do not include young people attending post-16 institutions. National data on gifted and talented pupils has only been collected since 2006.

New Businesses

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the number of new  (a) small and  (b) medium-sized businesses started up in (i) Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) the North East and (iv) England in each year since 1997.

Stephen Timms: VAT registration data provides the only accurate indicator of the level of business start-up activity.
	The number of new VAT registrations in Jarrow, South Tyneside, the North East and England are shown in the table for 1997 to 2006, alongside the total number of VAT registered businesses at the start of each year. Data for registrations and de-registrations in 2007 will be available autumn 2008.
	Although only data for businesses of all sizes registered for VAT is published by BERR, it is estimated that the majority (97.9 per cent.) of these will be small (with fewer than 50 employees) and 1.7 per cent. will be medium-sized (with 50-249 employees).
	
		
			  New VAT registrations and start of year stock of VAT registered businesses 
			   New registrations  Start of year stock 
			   England  North East  South Tyneside  Jarrow  England  North East  South Tyneside  Jarrow 
			 1997 159,935 4,060 190 105 1,379,260 42,455 1,690 935 
			 1998 160,360 4,105 185 95 1,414,080 42,720 1,715 945 
			 1999 155,630 4,185 195 100 1,449,995 43,170 1,765 975 
			 2000 157,815 4,275 175 100 1,478,330 43,680 1,815 980 
			 2001 149,460 4,180 185 100 1,503,765 44,335 1,810 980 
			 2002 155,770 4,390 205 115 1,521,285 44,520 1,830 990 
			 2003 168,250 4,900 235 115 1,541,155 45,100 1,845 1,000 
			 2004 160,565 4,460 195 100 1,574,270 46,240 1,900 1,020 
			 2005 158,995 4,665 195 110 1,602,230 47,085 1,945 1,050 
			 2006 159,315 4,630 210 125 1,635,845 48,280 1,990 1,090 
			 2007 — — — — 1,670,500 49,435 2,050 1,130 
			  Source:  Business start-ups and closures: VAT registrations and de-registrations in 2006 available at: http://stats.berr.gov.uk/ed/vat/index.htm 
		
	
	Although the number of new registrations has fluctuated over the period, the total number of VAT registered businesses in Jarrow, South Tyneside, the North East and England has increased.
	In Jarrow, the total number of VAT registered businesses has increased from 935 at the start of 1997 to 1,130 at the start of 2007, an increase of 195 (21 per cent.).
	The total number of VAT registered businesses in South Tyneside has increased from 1,690 at the start of 1997 to 2,050 at the start of 2007, an increase of 360 (21 per cent.).

Post Offices

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many post offices there are in each parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom.

Patrick McFadden: Post Office Ltd. annually places in the Libraries of the House a list of all post offices in the network by parliamentary constituency. The list: gives post office name, post town and post code.

Renewable Energy

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate has been made of the change in system balancing costs of adding the non-despatchable generators to the UK portfolio required to reach  (a) current renewable electricity targets and  (b) those targets likely to be required under the EU 20 per cent. renewables target.

Malcolm Wicks: It is estimated that the additional annual balancing costs that are likely to be incurred in meeting the Government's current renewables target for 2010 would lie in the range of £0.2 to £2.9/MWh, which would equate to an increase in electricity prices of up to 0.06p/kWh.
	It is too early to estimate what proportion of the UK. contribution to the EU 20 per cent. target will come from any particular source of renewable energy and the impact that will have on overall balancing costs. Agreement has not yet been reached on the contribution that each member state will make towards the 20 per cent. target, but we will consult in 2008 on policy options to meet the UK'S contribution and publish our full UK renewable energy strategy the following spring once the EU directive has been agreed.

Renewables Obligation

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the deadweight subsidy provided by the renewables obligation since 2002; and how much he expects such deadweight subsidy to total in the period up to 2027 assuming the obligation is not revised.

Malcolm Wicks: There has been no estimate of the deadweight subsidy provided by the renewables obligation since 2002.
	If there are no changes to the current model the lifetime deadweight subsidy (defined as cost to the consumer less the resource cost) is estimated to be £9.1 billion. The assumptions on which his figure is based are set out: in the report 'Reform of the renewables obligation—what is the likely impact of changes'(1) which was published alongside the recent consultation.
	The changes proposed in the May 2007 consultation on 'Reform of the Renewables Obligation' are estimated to lead to a reduced deadweight cost of £3.4 billion compared to the current model.
	(1)http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file39039.pdf

Small Businesses: North East Region

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps the Government are undertaking to promote small business start-up schemes among young people in the North East.

Stephen Timms: The Government's aim is to get a generation of young people to start thinking about the benefits of running their own business, and to recognise the positive impact that enterprising attitudes can have in every area of their lives.
	We are doing this by:
	Funding Enterprise Insight's Make Your Mark campaign—which promotes enterprise to young people aged 14 to 30;
	Supporting the UK's annual Enterprise Week;
	Promoting enterprise education for Key Stage 4 (14 to 16 years) pupils in schools;
	Supporting the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship to promote business start-up as a viable alternative to working for somebody else.
	In the North East of England, funding to help make young people aware of business start-up opportunities is provided by One NorthEast This includes the Future Entrepreneurs programme, providing approximately £3 million from 2005/06 to 2007/08, which aims to deliver enterprise education to young people aged five to 30, together with those individuals who influence young people such as teachers and careers advisors.
	One NorthEast has also funded the Prince's Trust—for both their 'Business Skills for Young People' and 'Beyond the Label' activities. Since 2005 investment in Prince's Trust activity from One NorthEast has been approximately £950,000.
	Work is also under way to increase the capacity of universities in the region to support graduates with enterprise education and business start-up. Funding is available from One NorthEast to individual institutions, but is conditional on those institutions matching expenditure through their own Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) submissions. The total funding allocated to this programme is: £1,700,000 (2006/07), £2,500.000 (2007/08), and £2,500,000 (2008/09).
	As part of a larger Northern Way Project 117 secondary schools in the North East (both mainstream and special schools) have been directly funded. This has supported over 9,000 youngsters to date with more to come this school year. £1.3 million of Northern Way support has been awarded, with schools getting around £10,500 each to integrate enterprise into the curriculum.

Wind Power

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the quantity of  (a) steel and  (b) concrete required to build sufficient wind turbines to supply the energy needed to meet targets likely to be required under the EU 20 per cent. renewables target.

Malcolm Wicks: It is too early to estimate what proportion of the UK. contribution to the EU 20 per cent. target will come from any particular source of renewable energy, and the impact that will have. Agreement has not yet been reached on the contribution that each member state will make toward the 20 per cent. target, but we will consult in 2008 on policy options to meet the UK's contribution and publish our full UK renewable energy strategy the following spring once the EU directive has been agreed.

Wind Power

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the quantity of  (a) steel and  (b) concrete required to build and develop the infrastructure, including access roads, to service wind turbines needed to supply the energy needed to meet targets likely to be required under the EU 20 per cent. renewables target.

Malcolm Wicks: It is too early to estimate what proportion of the UK contribution to the EU 20 per cent. target will come from any particular source of renewable energy, and the impact that will have. Agreement has not yet been reached on the contribution that each member state will make toward the 20 per cent. target, but we will consult in 2008 on policy options to meet the UK's contribution and publish our full UK renewable energy strategy the following spring once the EU directive has been agreed.